Star Wars Outlaws Creative Director Julian Gerighty addressed criticisms of the game’s main character Kay Vess and specifically criticism of her looks.
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
Vess and Star Wars Outlaws have repeatedly been criticized for making the character ugly. X user Mangalawyer posted in March, “Total Videogame character assassination by feminist developers: Star Wars Outlaws 2024.”
He added, “They are taking all the beautiful models and turning them into chestless Karens.”
Total Videogame character assassination by feminist developers: Star Wars Outlaws 2024
They are taking all the beautiful models and turning them into chestless Karens 💀 pic.twitter.com/OSPMstsaMh
— LearningTheLaw (@Mangalawyer) March 5, 2024
More recently, Mangalawyer compared Star Wars Outlaws to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. He wrote, “We never knew how good we had it, bros.”
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed vs. Star Wars: Outlaws
We never knew how good we had it, bros😆 pic.twitter.com/TVNmTMfwCL
— LearningTheLaw (@Mangalawyer) July 31, 2024
X user Luis Romero also recently posted, “I was wondering if someone from the mod gaming community could fix the head and face model of Kay Vess from Star Wars Outlaws. So it can look more like the actual model that Ubisoft hired for the face model of such character, Humberly González.
I was wondering if someone from the #mod #gamingcommunity could fix the head and face model of Kay Vess from @StarWarsOutlaws. So it can look more like the actual model that @Ubisoft hired for the face model of such character, Humberly González. pic.twitter.com/In9U6Zrfpl
— Luis Romero (@LuisTheImpaler) August 1, 2024
READ: Ubisoft Responds To Plethora Of Complaints About ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ After Gamers Roast Gameplay
Gerighty responded to these criticisms telling The Washington Post, “Kay is meant to be approachable, a petty thief who ends up barreling through this story, making bad decisions and centered with a lot of humor, humility and toughness. That’s what’s important to me. And she’s beautiful, come on.”
He added, “It makes no sense to me, and it’s not worth engaging with. If you engage with bad-faith people, there’s no nuance and no possibility of real dialogue. So all we can do is make the best game possible.”
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
Gerighty previously described Vess as “much more modern protagonist.”
He told Game Informer, “I think she’s a much more modern protagonist than we usually see in games.”
He then explained, “She’s somebody who is very much a street thief who gets thrown into things that are beyond her control, and that she kind of has to think her way out of, and that makes it a little bit more relatable than somebody who has all the confidence and sarcasm and just comes off as somebody who is not believable.”
He added, “So having her be relatable in that way was something extremely important for us.”
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
Gerighty’s comments are not surprising. They are extremely similar to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot when he was questioned about criticism the game faced for its graphics.
During Ubisoft’s recent Q1 sales report call an investor from Bank of America questioned Ubisoft’s narrative that the game was receiving positive feedback and even questioned if Ubisoft would delay the game following the negative feedback.
Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot responded to the inquiry, “The game has gone gold. So the date is well confirmed for August 13th. And, as you mentioned, we’ll be showcasing more content of a very high quality, multiple hours that will really show the depths of the open world, that is a key element of the promise to enjoy the exploration of the galaxy and with multiple planets. So that will bode well for the game in terms of high quality delivery.”
The company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Frédérick Duguet also added, “We’ve said also for Star Wars the level of quality, the world, and the experience it’s really very high. We are really leveraging our engine and I think people will love it.”
A screenshot from Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
In fact, Guillemot and Ubisoft did not appear optimistic about the game’s prospective sales after they announced that they were only projecting net bookings of €500 million for its second quarter when Star Wars Outlaws releases.
Barclays’ Nick Dempsey questioned the low prediction in the Q&A session during the company’s sales call. He asked, “When I look at the guidance for Q2 and if I assume something similar for back catalog in Q2 as Q1 kind of getting to €200 to €230 million, that sort of range. For the new release Star Wars Outlaws, when I look at the $70 price and then assuming what you might get from it, I’m getting to around 5 million units, something in that sort of bracket. First of all, where could I be going wrong with that thinking? Secondly, are you just being pretty conservative in your guidance because I guess given the interest in that game we might have thought it would be more than 5 million units?”
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot responded to the first question saying, “We can’t comment on the very numbers you are quoting. But what we have factored in is a strong launch for Star Wars Outlaws that reflects the fact that it is among the most awaited games of the industry this year and a really strong, positive community sentiment. And also, the fact, that we are coming with the biggest marketing campaign ever, so far, for [an] Ubisoft game. So that’s what we’ve been factoring in the second quarter.”
Concept art for Star Wars Outlaws (2024), Ubisoft
What do you make of Gerighty’s comments about the criticism regarding Kay Vess’ looks?
